History Music / TomTHall

* CrazyJealousGuy: "Salute To a Switchblade" is about a soldier in Germany who encounters one after unknowingly hitting on a married woman at a bar.

* LongTitle: A good chunk of his catalogue, with "The Great East Broadway Onion Championship of 1978" being the longest.

* ShoutOut: Along with some close friends of his, he also mentions Music/WillieNelson, Music/WaylonJennings and Music/DollyParton in "Spokane Motel Blues".

* RefrainFromAssuming: The song is just called "I Love", not "I Love Little Baby Ducks" or "I Love You Too".

* FilkSong:
** His 1978 hit "May the Force be with You Always" isn't specifically about ''Franchise/StarWars'', but memorably adapts its catchphrase for a philosophical take on IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy.
--->There is a force that moves our lives from place to place\\
There is a force exchanging smiles from face to face\\
If we must go, and we must go, then we will be apart\\
May the force be with you always, sweetheart
** Hall states in his spoken intro to "More About John Henry" that it's based on a "real old book about John Henry", which was actually ''John Henry'', a 1931 novel by Roark Bradford (who also wrote the novel that was later adapted into ''Theatre/TheGreenPastures'') that reimagines the John Henry myth.

After years of declining health, Hall died on August 20, 2021, at the age of 85 from what was later ruled to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Hall committed suicide on August 20, 2021, at the age of 85.

'''Thomas "Tom T." Hall''' (May 25, 1936 -- August 20, 2021) was a CountryMusic singer and songwriter, widely considered to be one of the best of all time. His songs, which mix thoughtful lyrics that often center around [[SliceOfLife narratives of everyday life]] and [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth simple melodies]], have earned him the nickname “The Storyteller”.

* InMediasRes: "Old Dogs, Children & Watermelon Wine" is a rare music example, starting off with a quote of an exchange between the narrator and the old man, before the narrator steps back to explain how he met the man.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "Harper Valley PTA" is famously built around one of these.
* RefrainFromAssuming: The song is just called "I Love", not "I Love Little Baby Ducks" or "I Love You Too".
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: "Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On", where a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII draft rejectee goes after everyone who made fun of him.

-->''Ain't no sense in wantin' my life to live over''
-->''I'd find different ways to make those mistakes again''

* DisappearedDad: "Ravishing Ruby"

-->''Clayton used to tell me "son you better put that old guitar away''
-->''There ain't no money in it, it'll lead you to an early grave"''
* FilkSong: His 1978 hit "May the Force be with You Always" isn't specifically about ''Franchise/StarWars'', but memorably adapts its catchphrase for a philosophical take on IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy.
-->There is a force that moves our lives from place to place\\

* HeavyMeta: "Country Is"

* ICanSeeMyHouseFromHere: PlayedForDrama in "I Flew Over Our House Last Night".

* IntellectualAnimal: "The Monkey That Became President"
* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: "I Hope It Rains At My Funeral"

* OrphansOrdeal: "Strawberry Farms"

-->''The man who preached the funeral''
-->''Said it really was a simple way to die.''
-->''He laid down to rest one afternoon''
-->''And never opened up his eyes.''

-->''In some of my songs I have casually mentioned''
-->''The fact that I like to drink beer''
-->''This little song is more to the point''
-->''Roll out the barrel and lend me your ears''

* WidowsWeeds: Mentioned in "Ballad of Forty Dollars".

* ThisIsASong: "I Like Beer"

'''Thomas "Tom T." Hall''' (May 25, 1936--August 20, 2021) was a CountryMusic singer and songwriter, widely considered to be one of the best of all time. His songs, which mix thoughtful lyrics that often center around [[SliceOfLife narratives of everyday life]] and [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth simple melodies]], have earned him the nickname “The Storyteller”.

!Tropes present:

'''Thomas "Tom T." Hall''' (born May 25, 1936) is a CountryMusic singer and songwriter, widely considered to be one of the best of all time. His songs, which mix thoughtful lyrics that often center around [[SliceOfLife narratives of everyday life]] and [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth simple melodies]], have earned him the nickname “The Storyteller”.

* YourCheatingHeart: "Margie's at The Lincoln Park Inn".

After a stint in the US Army, studying journalism in college, and working as a disk jockey, Hall moved to Nashville in 1964 and established himself as inventive young songwriter. Encouraged to try his hand at performing, he launched his recording career in 1967 with the moderate country hit “I Washed My Face in The Morning Dew”. A year later his song “Harper Valley PTA” was recorded by Jeannie C. Riley and hit #1 on the country and pop charts. This helped kick Hall's career into high gear, and he became one of the most popular country artists of TheSeventies, with six #1 hits on the country charts. One of them, “I Love”, was also a crossover pop hit. As his music career slowed down in TheEighties he turned his focus to writing fiction (publishing novels and short story collections) and performing {{Bluegrass}} music. His profile received a much-needed boost in 1997 when Music/AlanJackson topped the country chart with a CoverVersion of Hall's song “Little Bitty”.

* {{UsefulNotes/Appalachia}}: His home region (born and raised in the town of Olive Hill in eastern Kentucky) and the setting for a number of his songs.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: "Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On", where a World War II draft rejectee goes after everyone who made fun of him.

* TruckDriversGearChange: He ''loves'' to change keys as a way to emphasize a plot twist in a song.

* YourCheatingHeart: "Margie's at The Lincoln Park Inn"